Businesswoman at centre of storm over links to Boris Johnson to give interview

The American businesswoman at the centre of a storm over her association with Boris Johnson is to break her silence in a television interview.

Jennifer Arcuri will speak to ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday, following a series of stories about her links to the Prime Minister during his tenure as London mayor.

The technology entrepreneur and former model was reportedly given £126,000 in public money and privileged access to three foreign trade missions led by Mr Johnson while he was in City Hall.

Last month, the Prime Minister was referred to the police complaints body to assess whether he should face a criminal investigation over his association with her.

The Sunday Times has reported that the businesswoman confided to four friends that they had been engaged in an affair during his time as mayor.

But Mr Johnson insisted last week that everything he did when promoting London overseas as mayor was done in “complete conformity with the code and the rules”.

Over the weekend, the Sunday Times also reported that Mr Johnson wrote a letter recommending Ms Arcuri for a job as the head of a technology quango when he was in City Hall.

Leaked emails seen by the Sunday Times suggested Mr Johnson was listed as a reference in her application for the role at Tech City.

Ms Arcuri was said to have been a 27-year-old student at the time of applying for the £100,000 a year job, the paper said.

In recent days, Downing Street has also been forced to deny claims that Mr Johnson squeezed the thigh of a female journalist under the table during a private lunch.

Charlotte Edwardes said the incident took place at the offices of The Spectator in London shortly after Mr Johnson became the magazine’s editor in 1999.

After the lunch, she said she had confided in the young woman who was sitting on the other side of Mr Johnson, who told her: “Oh God, he did exactly the same to me.”